[supermans_alter_ego]

hi all,

so i just did a quick look at the costs of the new macbooks in the US vs Australia. i was looking at a 15 inch macbook pro, lets say the cheapest one. this is about 1700 US dollars, which on the current exchange rate is about 2100 Oz dollars. the same laptop on the mac australia website is 2700 Oz dollars.

so i used to go to a uni in the US and my mates are offering to buy me one and send it over. what sort of issues might there be tax wise? if i were to do that. noting that them buying with the uni discount over there could also get me a free ipod touch plus the possible 10% uni discount.

any ideas? cos that huge saving is shocking me..

nick

[Lutze]

10% GST on that price of $2100 = $2310 plus postage ($300) Plus Australian adaptor ($10) = not so good saving.

[supermans_alter_ego]

yeah i figure i can salary sacrifice it anyways and prob save $1000 but just miss out on the free ipod touch :P

[iCarllovesapple]

You might be able to get the education discount with Apple if you sweet talk? My friend went into the Sydney Apple Store and was given the Education discount with no ID at all...

[alrightythen]

I was looking at getting a new mac from the states as well. I have heard that there may be some compatibility issues with bluetooth and or wireless??? Would this be the case?

[bennettnz]

Never heard of any issues. I bought an ibook back from the states back in 2001 and never had any problems at all.

[alrightythen]

Thanks for that...planning on getting a Mac Pro/Mac mini and an iMac so the savings are pretty good even with GST added on.

[bennettnz]

Be careful you don't get stung for import duty when the goods come into Australia - I think it's more than just GST there's other taxes as well...

[alrightythen]

thanks for the heads up!

[iJohn]

Apart from the dollar, why are mac cheaper in the us?

[alrightythen]

Looking at the refurbished Mac Pro's on the US apple store I can save over $2k alone on the 2.93 Quad core with current conversion rates. I still need to calculate all the taxes and the overall risk (apple care covers these mac here in Aust.) But for around the same cost as the 2.93 on the Apple store here I can get the imac/mini and mac pro.

Happy to hear any thoughts good or bad!

[Lutze]

Originally Posted by iJohn

Apart from the dollar, why are mac cheaper in the us?

The price on the Apple Store in the US does not include sales tax. It does not include currency protection insurance.

Other problems are "the cost of doing business in the region" (This one is Adobe's favourite - Check out the price of CS4 in the US, then the UK then here in AU) Be glad you are here and not in the UK.

Buying from the US is not as easy as some might think. PriceUSA helps - but at a 5% cost.

Postage with insurance of something like a MacPro will cost >$400 AU. Add customs charges and GST and the price starts to look close. I broke this down at the start of this thread.

[iJohn]

Anyone had any dealings with Priceusa??